Cold comfort ... ice-hole swimming is a popular national pastime in Finland in winter.Credit: Getty Images
Lisa Hynes joins the Finns in a sauna, a beating and an icy plunge.
I brace myself. Though it's 80 degrees inside this crowded sauna, outside it's minus 25. My beaming, red-faced Finnish friends insist I'll be converted by my first experience of avantouinti, or ice-hole swimming, so I take a draught of vodka, draw breath and take the plunge.
This is my first visit to Finland in the winter. Finland is cold. I hate the cold. But family ties beckon, so here I am at dusk, cocooned in my many layers, at the Rastila camping ground in Helsinki.
Avantouinti is a winter tradition in Finland intimately connected with the sauna, the spiritual hearth of all Finns. Find a stretch of frozen water, preferably near a sauna (not difficult in a Nordic winter), cut a large hole in the ice and there you have it. There is an ice-hole swimming society and swimming holes are maintained by groups, such as the Finnish ski society.
A dip in a frozen lake in the Arctic winter might seem like a form of masochism to most people but hardcore devotees swear it improves circulation, boosts immunity and produces a feeling of well-being second to none. Immersion in icy water is even claimed by some to have anti-ageing benefits.
More than 100,000 Finns go ice swimming at least once a week in winter - about six months, from November to April. The toughest simply strip naked and submerge themselves in water as cold as minus-five degrees for up to a minute. I draw comfort from the fact that novices usually heat up first in the sauna, then plunge into the avanto, or ice hole.
Hot spot ... it's 80 degrees inside the sauna, but minus 25 outside.
So I follow the locals, with whom I'm sitting shoulder to shoulder in the steam. I'm determined to blend in, though I feel a bit ridiculous in the customary felt sauna hat, which protects the head from the intense heat. Attired in my modest swimsuit, I follow everyone else and smear honey on my face, meant to soften the wrinkles, though it melts quickly and trickles into my mouth and stings my eyes.
Then I beat myself (literally) with a whisk made of birch twigs, also part of the Finnish sauna tradition, said to open the pores and improve circulation.
I close my eyes and inhale the clean fresh smell of birch, evoking childhood memories of camping in the national parks of distant eastern Australia. The steam and heat rise with each loyly, the casting of water on to the hot stones of the sauna stove. After a sip of vodka, I take a deep breath, open the door and take the freezing jetty towards the ice hole.
There's a handy ladder here and I lower myself step by step, steam rising from my blue-ish body. Soon I'm up to my neck. I splash around like a frozen, flightless bird and, after less than a minute, haul myself out.
The effect is odd, yet exhilarating. I'm simultaneously hot and cold. Momentarily I'm distracted by the brightness of the snowy landscape, lit by the moon and pinpricks of stars. There are trails of the aurora borealis in the clear skies. I gasp - perhaps from lack of oxygen or the beauty of a Nordic night.
I leave the avanto and skip back to the sauna. My head feels clear, my body full of energy. My conversion is complete.
FAST FACTS
Getting there
Finnair has a fare to Helsinki from Sydney and Melbourne for about $1720 low-season return including tax. Fly Qantas to Singapore (about 8hr), then Finnair to Helsinki (12hr 30min). This fare allows you to fly via a number of Asian hubs and out of certain other European cities and via a number of Asian cities; see finnair.com.
Swimming there
There are about 10 ice holes (avantouinti) in the Helsinki area and more than 150 swimming holes in Finland. The well-located Rastila Camping Centre has two saunas and an ice-hole, an 18-minute metro ride from Helsinki's city centre, at Karavaanikatu 4. Take the above-ground metro to Vuosaari, then get off at Rastila stop. It is open only to camping guests or holders of a seasonal pass for €150 ($200). The cost for sauna and swim for camping guests is €2 for adults, €1 for children. Winter swimming takes place from the end of October to the end of April; see rastilacamping.fi.
In the Helsinki metropolitan area, also try Kuusijarvi Recreation Centre, a 40-minute ride on bus 730 from the city's Railway Square. Single-visit tickets for sauna and swim cost €5 for adults. At Kuusijarventie 3 Vantaa, open noon-8.30pm daily; see jaakarhut.fi.
Staying there
Hotel Klaus K is a centrally located boutique hotel with furnishings inspired by the Finnish national epic, Kalevala, and a member of the Design Hotels Group. Its eco-breakfast is one of the most popular in Helsinki and the shiny white decor of the Ahjo Bar is a welcome respite in the long winter nights. Rooms cost from €164; see klaushotel.com.
More information
See visitfinland.com; visithelsinki.fi; saunamafia.fi.
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